Messages From Zimbabwe

ZANU PF loosing councilor for Ward 15 has taken maize from the Biet Bridge GMB depot and sold it at an inflated rate. This maize was meant for the MDC winning candidate Ishmal Gilbert to distribute to the people in his Ward 15 in Chiredzi South.

This corruption by ZANU PF will not stop until there is genuine Law And Order in Zimbabwe.

(Source: by email)

Zimbabwe‘s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said no new talks on a unity government would be held on Monday and called for regional mediation to resolve a dispute on how to divide key ministries.

“As far as we are concerned, there are no talks lined up today [Monday],” Nelson Chamisa, spokesperson for the MDC, said.

He denied a report in the state-run Herald newspaper, which said President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and the MDC would meet Monday to resolve their differences over control of the finance and home affairs ministries.

“Nothing has been concluded. ZANU PF and Mugabe are trying to mislead the world and the nation,” Chamisa said.

“It is now time the Southern African Development Community [SADC] and the African Union come and assist in this matter,” he added.

The MDC had called last week for SADC or the AU to help break the impasse, but Mugabe’s party insisted that no outside mediation was needed.

But new talks on Saturday among Mugabe, Tsvangirai and MDC splinter group leader Arthur Mutambara failed to resolve differences.

Chamisa said the MDC had proposed leaving Mugabe control of the Defence Ministry, if the opposition were given home affairs.

“It’s a deadlock,” he said. “The country is at a standstill and people are dying of hunger and yet ZANU PF is not moving an inch to take this country forward.”

The South African government said on Friday that former president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the power-sharing deal, had agreed to resume his mediation to resolve the crisis.

“We will issue a statement when he does go,” Mbeki’s spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said on Saturday.

Under the South African-brokered deal, Mugabe will remain as head of state after nearly three decades in power while Tsvangirai is to take up a new post of prime minister and Mutambara will be a deputy prime minister.

The deal was heralded as an historic initiative to resolve Zimbabwe‘s political deadlock and economic meltdown.

Once one of Africa‘s most-prosperous countries, Zimbabwe now suffers the world’s highest rate of inflation, last estimated at 11,2-million percent, with millions dependent on food aid.

Meanwhile, six months after elections, Zimbabwe still lacks a functioning government and is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Following the worst wheat harvest since the independence war, bread has run out and sugar supplies are set to follow. USAid, the American government humanitarian agency, is warning that the country could run out of maize, the staple food, by next month.

Farming officials say the government’s stated aim of producing maize on 500 000 hectares this season is unattainable.

“We are in serious trouble,” said Jabulani Gwaringa, of the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU), which represents small-scale operators. “There is no seed, fertiliser and crop chemicals on the market. Banks are not offering farmers any credit. In July we had produced about 25 000 metric tonnes of seed maize. We are down to 9 000 because farmers opted to eat their hybrid seed or sell it to millers.”

(Source)

Zimbabwe ’s mobile phone operators have hiked their tariffs by more than 2,500 percent, causing a massive domino effect on the pricing structure of e-commerce, e-banking, and e-business.

The increase drew howls of protest from already hard-pressed consumers who have to contend with Zimbabwe’s supersonic inflation.

The increase is certainly going to fuel inflation, as telecommunications costs comprise a significant weight in the basket used in calculating the consumer price index.

Econet Wireless, which enjoys about 57 percent of the local subscriber share hiked its tariffs by more than 2500 percent. Its competitors, privately owned Telecel, which has 17 percent of the local market and state run Net*One with 26 percent also hiked their tariffs by roughly the same margin.

Econet increased charges for intra-network calls of Econet to Econet to Z$250 during the peak period. Charges for inter-network charges, or calling other cellphone operators has also shot up during the peak and off peak periods by the same margin.

Calling a landline, sending a local and international SMS and making international outgoing calls to Group 1 and Group 2 destinations has also shot up.

Industrialists and officials in commerce bemoaned the impact the new charges would have on businesses across the country. Zimbabwean mobile phone networks have to meet the bulk of their costs, 95 percent, in foreign currency. The networks have long complained about rigid regulatory oversight over tariffs, a factor which has impacted negatively on revenue.

However, although the networks have enjoyed the relative relaxation by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), they are wary that radical tariff hikes could hit ARPU (average rate per user) statistics hard.

(Source)

The fight for control of key ministries by ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change has been narrowed to two, the state controlled Sunday Mail reported.

“President Mugabe and the leaders of the two main opposition parties met in Harare yesterday (Saturday) and narrowed their differences to the allocation of just two Cabinet posts as talks on the composition of the proposed all-inclusive Government continued. After a two-hour meeting at State House, President Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T and Professor Arthur Mutambara of MDC failed to reach an agreement on which party would run the Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs,” reported the Sunday Mail.

The parties are said to have agreed to refer the matter to their respective negotiating teams.

“The President and the leaders of the two MDC formations met this morning (yesterday) in consultation over the setting up of Government but failed to conclude their consultations. They, however, decided that there should be further consultation at the level of their negotiating teams exclusively over the Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs,” said presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, in a statement.

But the spokesperson of the Tsvangirai led faction, Nelson Chamisa, denied that the parties had made progress.

“That is not correct (that only two ministries remain). The entire package has not been settled. There hasn’t been any resolution. We cannot talk of ‘remaining ministries’ because it is a negotiation of the entire set of ministries. It is clear that the arrogance and rigidity continues on the part of ZANU PF. You cannot grab and take all. That is not genuine power sharing.

“There has been no paradigm shift on the part of ZANU PF. If there is no movement for too long a time, there’ll be no option but to go to the next port of call, the AU and Sadc, who are the guarantors of the agreement we signed. We cannot negotiate in perpetuity. We need to allow our people to plan and to chart the way forward.”

(Source)

Today I went from one meeting to another using the main streets in Harare – it was pure chaos. The City had no electricity, the traffic lights at all intersections were not working and the traffic was gridlocked. The Police were nowhere to be seen and even as we sat in the traffic a police car drove past – ramped the pavement and drove though the intersection paying no attention to what was going on around them.

At the Reserve Bank it was the same. They are printing money and creating money in other forms so fast that the inflation rate is no longer calculable. What we do know is that the RTGS rate – that is the rate at which foreign exchange is exchanged in the open market for money transferred by electronic means is moving by the hour. At the beginning of August it was 7 to 1 against the US dollar (after we dropped 9 zeros) and yesterday it was 2000000 to 1. Quite a change in 8 weeks! At this rate it will be no less than 10 million to one by next weekend.

Desperate people are queuing for days at the banks and other financial houses to try and get their money out of the system so that they can spend it before it literally melts to nothing. In Gweru last week the main street was almost closed by crowds at ATM’s and banks. In Harare literally thousands of people jam every cash outlet. The maximum withdrawal by an individual is $20000 a day worth US$ 0,001 cents.

The Reserve Bank, faced with the escalating consequences of their own ineptitude are now printing money on plain local bond paper with no security features. The mafia are having a field day and so many counterfeit notes are circulating that people are refusing the new notes. Instead of adopting a carefully crafted plan to overcome these problems and to correct the fundamentals that are driving the system towards collapse, the Governor today simply closed down the RTGS system and I understand even the inter bank system; rendering the only alternative window for payments impassable.

It is illegal to trade in hard currency – you can go to jail for this if you try, it is illegal to change money on the street, you cannot charge a market price for what you sell unless you are willing to risk intervention or worse. Even today there were reports of the government taking action against retailers who were “over charging”. Business is unable to pay their staff in cash, they pay them by bank transfer and then watch as half their work force is absent all day standing in queues.

Non cash forms of payments are rampant – barter is common, the use of fuel coupons with a face value of about US$30 each is also common tender. The BBC carried a story this week of an auction in Harare where the bids were all expressed in coupons. Most firms are now being forced to sell their goods and services in hard currency – Rand or US dollars even though it is illegal.

Businesses do not bank the money because the Reserve Bank keeps a close watch on any foreign exchange balances in the Banks and simply expropriates them. Crediting the owner of these accounts with local currency at a ridiculous rate of exchange and then using the flow of hard currency to support the life styles of the small elite that is still in charge. At these rates of exchange a luxury, top of the range car costs less than the price of a local cigarette.

Here we are, 4 weeks away from the start of the wet season and we have 2 per cent of our fertilizer requirements in stock. All other inputs are virtually unobtainable. The Reserve Bank is handing out expensive farm equipment to ZANU PF fat cats like sweets to a kindergarden, but they cannot provide fuel or seed or fertilizer or chemicals. It’s madness.

Remaining farmers – black and white are being evicted from their farms by ZANU PF heavies such as a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank and what is left of the once world class tobacco industry is facing extinction. Dairy farmers, pig farms and fruit estates are all facing illegal invasion and disruption of activity. The Police simply respond to appeals for help by saying that they cannot help because “it is political”.

Our retail chains are empty, many stores are closed, the wholesalers are no longer functional and industry is running at 10 per cent of capacity. Power supplies are down to about half of demand, fuel is in short supply and spare parts are unobtainable. All basic foods are virtually only available in the parallel market at very high prices. Although government schools have openedtheir doors and the children have gone to school – no teachers are at work.

The universities will not open their doors this term – the final term before vital exams. Business cannot fix prices or salaries – their normal activities are simply frozen in their tracks.

In the midst of this chaos Mugabe went on a 10 day spree to New York to make a speech. The cost of a 20 minute opportunity to denigrate the leading nations in the world, the very people who have fed his population for 8 years, was the cost of taking a Boeing 767 to New York and back via Egypt.

The 54 member delegation must have cost at least US$2 million in allowances and expenses while there.

Then on return he wastes another week with no action on the formation of a new government – now 3 weeks since the SADC facilitated deal with the MDC was signed. And remember we have not had a proper government since the 29th March – nearly 7 months. Since Parliament was convened several weeks ago, we have had no government at all. When confronted with the need to make a decision on the allocation of Ministerial portfolios, ZANU PF has been frozen in its tracks like a child confronted with a cobra. Simply not knowing what to do and beginning to realize for the first time that the end of the road is in sight for them.

Even though Thabo Mbeki is no longer the power broker he was after his removal from the Presidency in South Africa, they are terrified of his visit to sort out the impasse because they know that their arguments for a disproportionate share of Ministerial portfolios are not defensible. They cannot hold out for much longer and Mbeki is on his way.

Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 4th October 2008

(Source: by email)

People have to have cash to buy food, or pay the cheque or RTGS rate which is something like 150 times more than the cash money rate, no one can afford this.

Maize meal is very hard to find and the little that does become available can still only bought from ZANU PF for forex money only, last price R30 per 10kg, which in Zimbabwe dollars is $3750 if you were purchasing Rands on the street.

The few remaining farmers are still getting harassed by ZANU PF big wigs who are producing offer letters, the latest to suffer are Gary and Theresa Warth on their Wasara Ranch in the Chiredzi River Conservancy, some 40km North of Chiredzi.

On the 22nd Sept 2008 *Mrs. E Maziriri* ex-MP for Chivi Masvingo district arrived with the district lands officer, Mr. J. Chimoto, District Resettlement officer Mr. M. Muvondoli and the District Environment Officer Mr. P A. Magodi and produced an offer letter. She had come to take over their small irrigation block which is security fenced near the homestead, she was also demanding that Gary and Theresa provide her with accommodation at the homestead, this they refused as all available accommodation was fully used by their staff and game scouts. Mrs. E. Maziriri has been back several times with local militia to try and force the issue, they have cut fences broken gates and threatened Theresa who was alone at the time as Gary had rushed off to Masvingo and Harare to try and get some kind of intervention. Police eventually intervened but only after they had been harassed by friends of the Warths and given a vehicle to take them there.

Mrs. E. Maziriri is still harassing the Warths for accommodation and has prevented their labour from working, this is helping to increase the poaching on the ranch.

Gerry Whitehead

(by email)

Drug supplies at Zimbabwe’s public hospitals have increased by 70 percent in the past few months, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa has announced here.

Parirenyatwa on Tuesday said that the increased drug availability would ease the plight of patients requiring ant-retroviral drugs and treatments for other diseases such as kidney ailments who have faced shortages of life-saving medicines.

The drugs were imported through funding from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which responded to a plea by the cash-strapped public hospitals.

Until the arrival of the new drugs, some public hospitals were only admitting critically ill patients while sending others to private doctors.

Government critics blame the poor service delivery at public health institutions on perennial under-funding of the sector and an exodus of skilled personnel in search of greener pastures in neighbouring countries.

Drug supplies at Zimbabwe’s public hospitals have increased by 70 percent in the past few months, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa has announced here.

Parirenyatwa on Tuesday said that the increased drug availability would ease the plight of patients requiring ant-retroviral drugs and treatments for other diseases such as kidney ailments who have faced shortages of life-saving medicines.

The drugs were imported through funding from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which responded to a plea by the cash-strapped public hospitals.

Until the arrival of the new drugs, some public hospitals were only admitting critically ill patients while sending others to private doctors.

Government critics blame the poor service delivery at public health institutions on perennial under-funding of the sector and an exodus of skilled personnel in search of greener pastures in neighbouring countries.

(Source)